My name's Caroline Forbes He'll know me
by Logan27
Summary: What really happened while Caroline was in New Orleans when she went looking for Klaus' help?
Caroline walked out of St. James bar with no idea of what to do next. She couldn't go back home and she couldn't exactly do nothing either. Her two girls at each side looked confused.

"Mommy, where are we going now?" Lizzie asked.

"We're, uh, going to a hotel. Mommy's going to get us a hotel. Yeah, and then, uh, we'll look around the city a little. Doesn't that sound like fun?"

"Not really," Josie spoke up.

The sass in her Josie, a three year old, constantly shocked Caroline. She knew without a doubt that her more opinionated daughter would grow up to be just like her and she certainly did not look forward to the day that she would feel the aggravation that her mother felt putting up with her all those years.

Caroline blew out a breath and headed back to the car, buckling both the girls into their car seats and began looking up hotels on her phone. There was one not far away. She wanted to stay close to the Quarter. This wasn't over yet. She would regroup with the girls and come up with a plan. There had to be someone here who knew where Klaus was. Someone must have heard or seen something. Even the tiniest rumor or the smallest hint of a direction to go in. Anything would do.

That damn hybrid wasn't answering his phone or the many, many texts that she had sent. It drove her mad because he had always answered her. Maybe not always immediately as he had problems of his own of course but he always got back to her. Not that she messaged or called him often, mind you. But still. This wasn't like him and it had Caroline worried.

Getting to the hotel was no problem. She got her daughters and their luggage inside and then laid them down for a nap. She knew that they were going to start getting crabby soon if she didn't. It had been a long road trip for two kids this young. They needed rest on real beds.

An hour passed and then two as she sat at the hotel room desk, facing the wall. St. James had been her first stop since she knew that Stefan had found Klaus there three years ago and it was the very same place that he must have been in when answering Stefan's phone for the last conversation they had. But where else to look?

Stepping just outside the room to call Elijah and Rebekah didn't help. Their phones were deactivated. At least the numbers she had were.

She knew he'd had a daughter and she knew it was with Hayley. Caroline had to roll her eyes at that one. But she still had a number for the wolf... or hybrid... whatever she was now. Calling it didn't help either but it was the only one that actually rang so she left a message.

"Hayley, it's Caroline. I know you don't want to hear from me and to be honest, I never expected to be calling you. But my family, including my daughters, long story, are in danger and I came to New Orleans. I have no other options and I need Klaus' help." Caroline took a deep breath. "Thing is, I was told he's not here and since he's not answering my messages, I'm calling everyone I can think of that might know where he is... Please, Hayley. We really need help." With that, Caroline hung up her phone.

Stefan had mentioned two other people in short updates he gave her from his time in New Orleans. A sister named Freya which was apparently a long story that he didn't get. And a guy named Marcel that was a trusted friend and risked his life for the Mikaelsons. Neither of which did Caroline have the contact info for. She huffed a sigh.

"Mommy?" She heard Lizzie from inside. Going back in, Caroline saw her sitting on the bed, rubbing her little eyes and Josie was starting to wake up as well.

"I'm here, Baby. Mommy just had to make a few phone calls."

"Are we going to look around the city now? Can we go to MacDonald's?"

The vampire mother had to laugh a little. Rick took them to McDonald's once and they were hooked. No matter how much she said that they couldn't eat there very often because it was bad for them, they still asked nearly every time they saw one from the car.

"You know the answer to that, Lizzie. I'll tell you what though, we'll find a good place to eat with some music and maybe see all kinds of Voodoo shops and-" Caroline stopped as a thought occurred. Who better to ask about Klaus than witches that he had surely butted heads with? And where there were witches, there were vampires. Not to mention the werewolves that she knew to be here as well. There hadn't been an over abundance of conversations with Klaus before these last three silent years but enough that she knew a little of the goings-on in New Orleans.

"Come on. Let's put on our shoes, okay?"

Twenty minutes later, Caroline and the girls were back in the French Quarter and they had just walked into a self proclaimed Voodoo shop. The woman at the desk seemed to fit the bill but this place was a tourist trap so there were surely some fakes among the magic vendors. The shop keeper looked up and then down at Lizzie and Josie as the bartender at St. James had. It was clear that she disapproved of having children in her shop but this was a good thing in Caroline's eyes. If this woman wasn't really a witch then she would be glad no matter who walked into her store. If there was real magic to be found here though, of course she would be judgmental of a woman who'd just brought in two toddlers.

"Can I help you?" She asked without a smile.

Caroline answered cautiously. "I'm looking for someone in the Quarter. I think maybe you've heard of him."

"...Okay?"

"Klaus Mikaelson."

The witch's face dropped. Obviously she knew exactly who Klaus was. This was a good lead.

"First off, that man is nothing but trouble so I suggest you go back to wherever it is you came from. Secondly, he disappeared three years ago so no point looking here anyway."

"Here's the thing," Caroline walked up to the counter, "I need his help. My family," she paused, giving a brief look to Josie and Lizzie, "and others I care about depend on it."

An expression of empathy crossed over the woman's features. "Look, I'd like to help you but I don't know where he went." Her voice was softer. She must be a mother because only a mother could sympathize with such a tone.

"Then could you tell me where anyone who might know is? Maybe one of his siblings? Elijah? Rebekah? Freya? Or maybe someone else like some guy named Marcel?"

The last name she mentioned made the shop keepers eyes shoot to hers in a stern look. "I think you need to leave. And you best be careful about who you're asking about. Some in the big easy don't like those that nose around in business that isn't theirs. Go on," she gestured to the door, "go buy these little ones some beads, enjoy some jazz and cajun food and then get on your way."

Clearly this woman wasn't going to be any help so Caroline just nodded and walked out the door still holding two small hands. There were a few other places with true witches inside but they all had similar reactions to the first one. And all of them had an interesting reaction to a stranger asking about this 'Marcel' person. That seemed to be a good clue to investigate first. But where could she find anything out if the magical element in the city wasn't willing to talk?

The last store that they stopped at had a man behind the counter. He was sitting back in a chair, reading a novel.

"Excuse me," Caroline said. He looked up. "Hi, my name is Caroline." He glanced at the girls and then back up to their mother as most of the store clerks had today. "I wonder if you could help me. I'm looking for a vampire." He suddenly snapped to.

"I'm Vincent. And just which vampire are you looking for?"

"Any vampire will do. None of your coven seem to want to answer any of my questions so...?"

He regarded her with interest. Not quite the disapproval or eagerness to get her away from him that the others had. This was a development and hopefully a good one.

"Try me."

"Okay, well, I am looking for someone in particular. The witches around here seem to want to stay out of it though so I'm not sure you'll be any different. I'm looking for a man named Klaus Mikaelson or anyone that might know where he is."

"Mommy, I'm hungry," her youngest by one minute piped up.

The man called Vincent looked down at her and smiled. Then he looked to a jar holding something that Caroline didn't recognize. "Here." He took off the lid and grabbed two of them. They kind of looked like cinnamon sticks but not quite. He held them out for the girls to take and they both immediately dropped their mother's hands and walked to take them.

"Wait, what are they?"

"Don't worry. They're just something sweet that will tide them over. No mystical properties, I assure you." His smile was genuine as he grabbed one more out of the jar and took a bite himself.

Josie and Lizzie proceeded to take the two he offered and started to chew on them. The smiles that spread on their adorable faces told Caroline that they were really enjoying them.

"And I'll tell you what," Vincent looked around and then picked up a chalk board and two pieces of chalk. "Why don't you girls go sit over there and draw while I talk to your mommy?" They both nodded and headed to a little nook with chalk that Caroline was sure was generally used for spells. The thought was disconcerting but she let it slide.

"Klaus is an awful interesting person for a young mother to be looking for."

"I wouldn't be trying to find him if it wasn't important. My family is in danger. I just need his help. I swear I'm not here to cause trouble or to get involved in anything else. I'm just trying to find him. Elijah or maybe Rebekah... Marcel?" She added the last name that had brought about strong reactions from the others.

Vincent didn't react quite the same. He starting nodding his head as he glanced to the floor thinking. He put a thoughtful finger to his mouth before he answered. "I don't know about being able to lead you to Klaus. That's out of my jurisdiction, so to speak. But Marcel, I certainly can lead you to him and unlike my fellow witches, I'm not afraid of him."

Caroline smiled. Finally, some results.

"Oh, I wouldn't get too happy just yet. You might not appreciate the introduction later." This made Caroline'd mood sober up a bit. "And, do you happen to have anyone that could watch your kids?"

Caroline shook her head. "Alright, well, good thing is Marcel has a thing about not hurting children. He won't touch them. You, on the other hand, I'm not so sure about. Depends on how your conversation with him goes, I guess. Are you sure you want this?"

"It's my only chance. I _need_ this."

Vincent nodded and grabbed a 'Sorry, we're closed' sign. "I'm babysitting the shop for a friend but I don't think she'll mind if I take a second lunch break. Follow me."

Caroline collected the girls and followed the warlock outside and down several streets. He walked slow to benefit Josie and Lizzie's little legs but with each turn, Caroline was becoming more stressed. This Marcel didn't sound like someone she should be talking to but there wasn't much of a choice if no one else could be found.

Finally, they arrived at a big wooden door. It entered into a courtyard inside a home of sorts. There were a couple men standing just inside and Vincent spoke up. "I'm here to see Marcel. It could be something of interest to him." What Caroline assumed were guards took in the sight of the females in the entry way. She was getting really tired of people assessing them.

"Wait here," one of them said as he walked off through hallway to the side.

For a few minutes, Caroline, Vincent, Josie and Lizzie just stood near the door and waited. The room was silent except for Josie's impatient sighs. She was none to happy to just be waiting around after being drug all over the Quarter and Caroline didn't blame her. This wasn't exactly the kind of activity she would have chosen for them any other day. But soon enough the guard was returning and a man with mocha skin followed him into the main area. He too was looking at the group with curious assessment before deciding to walk towards them.

"Vincent," he greeted. "Nice to see you." It sounded less than enthused.

Vincent looked at the man with distain. "I would say the same but..." He was sarcastic. It was plain to see that these two didn't get along.

"You wanna introduce me to your friends?" He looked back to them.

"Yes, uh, this is Caroline and her two lovely daughters," He gestured. "Didn't catch their names but then I'm not sure that's important."

"And what exactly _is_ important, Vincent?" The man was impatient.

"Caroline," he looked to her as he swept a hand out to indicate the other man, "this is _Marcel_." Then his eyes went back to the man of the hour. "Caroline is in New Orleans looking for one _Klaus Mikaelson_. Been asking all up and down the Caldron. She's very keen to know where he is. Even asked about you and she's very insistent."

Marcel looked at Caroline with even more interest. "Did she now? Well, ladies, come right this way. Don't want to leave you just standing around." His smile held bright pearly whites. It was one of the most beautiful smiles she'd ever seen but there was something sinister about it that set Caroline on edge but she began walking off after him still holding the girls' hands. Vincent started after as well but Marcel stopped to halt him. "You, however, can see yourself out."

"The hell I will. I'm not leaving them here alone."

"You're not. They're with me." Marcel signaled to his men and they came to collect the only person in this room Caroline was even close to trusting. He did, after all, try protectively staying with them. Not that it looked as though that would actually happen.

Vincent flicked a wrist and the two vampires walking towards him got their necks snapped before he clasped his hands in front of his waist to wait for Marcel to accept that he wasn't going anywhere. But in the blink of an eye, Marcel vamp sped over and knocked him out cold. Marcel then whistled and within seconds, other vampires showed up and carried Vincent off at their leader's command.

"Shall we?" Marcel asked addressing Caroline once more. She nodded and they all went into what appeared to be a study. Marcel took a seat near a large desk and then gestured for them to sit. The girls hopped up on chairs next to her while Marcel sent a quick text.

The next thing she knew, there was a guy walking through the door.

"Josh, could you please take these beautiful little ladies and entertain while I speak with my guest alone?"

Josh didn't look happy about being told what to do and was about to speak but Caroline interrupted. "No, I don't think so. My girls stay with me."

"I'm afraid that's not an option. I think we'll have a lot to discuss and your daughters will just be a distraction. And I'm sure they would be incredibly bored at that." He leaned in to speak more sincerely. "I have never hurt a child, I don't intend to start now and I won't allow any in my command to either. They're perfectly safe, I swear it. Plus, I'm not asking." He nodded at Josh to get the girls.

"Hey, my name's Josh," he said in a kind voice, bending down, his hand extended to shake theirs. "What are your names?"

"I'm Josie," ever the confident one. "This is my sister Elizabeth but we call her Lizzie. We're twins," she informed.

"Oh, hey that's pretty cool. What do you say you guys come with me and we'll get ice cream?" The smile on Josh's face was so honest and endearing even though he'd only been in the room less than a minute. Caroline wasn't comfortable with them going off with someone but all things considered, she'd tolerate it.

The girls both leaped out of their seats and took Josh's hands and happily walked outside.

After the door was closed Caroline leveled with Marcel. "Look, I'm just here to find Klaus. I don't know if he's an enemy or a friend of yours but I don't want any trouble. Me and people I care about desperately need his help. That's all. I heard that you were an ally."

"From who?"

"Stefan. He came here a few years ago and helped you guys with some people called the Strix?"

"Yeah, okay, I remember Stefan. Guy with the mark on his chest." Caroline nodded.

Marcel bobbed his head in thought much like Vincent had. He bit his lip and then, "You need Klaus' help?"

"Yes."

He had a pensive expression. "Since you came looking for him _and_ with your little ones in tow, that means you have reason to believe he _would_ help you."

"Yeah," Caroline confirmed wondering where this was going.

"Klaus doesn't often help people. Not unless there's something in it for him or unless they mean something to him. So tell me, Caroline, what is it you have that Klaus would want? Or is it that you happen to be one of the few people he cares for?"

The dangerous ground she was treading on suddenly became apparent to her. _Be careful_ , she thought.

"It's a long shot." She offered.

"But a shot none the less. Why is it you were willing to take it? Why does a nice girl like you think Klaus Mikaelson would help her?"

"He has helped my friends and I before," she said slowly. "Stefan was like a brother to him once."

"Ah, so it's a sense of family that made him offer aid in the past. Definitely sounds like him but I doubt that's the case here... Caroline, I don't intend to hurt you. Answer my questions and afterward I'll answer yours as best as I can." She took a steadying breath. "How did you meet Klaus?"

"He came into my hometown, looking to break a curse. Killed a bunch of people and terrorized us."

Marcel's eyebrows shot up as he gave a half laugh. "Yeah, that sounds like Klaus too. So, all of that and you still come searching for him for help you?"

Caroline was reluctant but started to explain. "He did to a lot of terrible things to my friends and I. Really terrible things. But in the end, he was the lesser of two evils in most cases. We had some common goals and had to work together on some occasions. And for all the awful unforgivable things he did, he also did kind and generous things as well. Saved my life a few times. Granted, a couple of those he's the one that put it in danger in the first place but..." She shrugged.

"Sounds like you got to know him. And he got to know you."

Caroline nodded again.

"What are you to him?"

"I haven't seen or talked to him in three years. I'm just an old acquaintance."

"See, now for some reason I don't think that last part's true. Where is this hometown of yours exactly?" Marcel asked.

Caroline huffed a breath. "It's in Virginia. Mystic Falls."

That seemed to mean something to Marcel. A slow smile crossed his face. He'd heard of it before and there was a story to it. She wasn't sure she wanted to know what it was though.

"Did you happen to see him about four years ago? He popped in for a few days and then left?"

She narrowed her eyes and gave a cautious "yeah."

Marcel laughed a little. "Funny thing is, when he came back from that trip, he had a big grin on his face. Best mood I'd ever seen him in. Forgave and pardoned some people. Wouldn't tell me exactly why it was but seemed to me someone made him _very_ happy."

Caroline shifted her gaze to the floor in guilt and tried to swallow the lump in her throat. Memories of their frenzied sex in the woods flashed through her mind. The intense love making that lasted hours, from midday to sunset.

"Mm-hmm. That's what I thought. So again I ask, 'what are you to him?'"

She looked back up to him. "We had a _thing_ ," she quoted Klaus. Marcel waited for her to continue. "He came into town and made us all convinced he was the devil. But then..."

"But then?"

"He was the first person that ever told me I could have more out of life. He was the first one to inspire me to want more for myself than what I had. Told me I could have a thousand more birthdays, that there was a whole world out there waiting for me." Caroline could hear Klaus' voice in her head from that night. _Great cities and art and music. Genuine beauty. And you can have all of it._

"The more I found out, the harder it was to see him as a pure villain. The grey murky areas aren't something I was good at. I'm still not. So I pushed him away for so long until one day, I didn't. But that didn't change the fact that he needed to be out of my life. There was no place for him in it. Not then." She was being honest in the hopes that Marcel would appreciate it.

"And now?"

"No, but people's lives depend on me getting his help."

"Which they thought you could get because...?" Marcel pried.

Caroline looked at Marcel, really looked at him. What sort of man was he? Could he be trusted? Was he just looking out for Klaus by not showing his cards? Being morally ambiguous to through people off? Yet something about his features and mannerisms told her that no matter what side he was on, he was someone who could see reason. Someone who was not unjust.

"Because he's in love with me."

Marcel didn't seem surprised. "Yeah, you remind me of a girl that use to live around here. Klaus was instantly fond of her when he got to New Orleans. My guess is _she_ reminded him of _you_. They never got very far though. Things are rarely as good as the _Original_." He referred to Caroline but the double entendre didn't escape her.

"Is it my turn to ask questions now?"

"Go for it."

"Where's Klaus?"

"Haven't seen him in a few years." Marcel answered. Caroline had heard that before but something was off about it.

"I didn't ask if you'd seen him. I asked where he is. Do you know where Klaus is?"

Marcel kept his mouth closed and just looked at her, crossing his arms as if considering what to say. "That's a 'yes'," Caroline concluded before crossing her own arms.

"He's... not up for visitors at the moment."

"Does that mean he's alive at least?" Stefan had briefly told her that Klaus' sire line was disconnected from him. So the fact that she and her friends weren't dead didn't tell her anything. She was really hoping that he was okay. She had tried for the longest time to convince herself that she didn't care about him, that he didn't matter much to her. That just wasn't true though because she was now sitting here waiting on bated breath to hear what happened to him.

"He's alive and... not _well_ exactly, but alive." This concerned her but she was at least happy to learn that he wasn't gone forever. It bothered almost her how relieved she was.

"And his family? His daughter?"

"Now that, I don't know anything about. They up and vanished around the time Klaus, shall we say, escaped the outside world for a while. I thought for a time that Freya, Elijah and Kol were dead but when whole sire lines of vampires didn't drop dead, I realized someone must have pulled a metaphorical rabbit out of a hat. But the Mikaelsons are good at that."

Caroline was growing impatient. "Okay, stop being vague. _Where is Klaus?_ "

"Right where he deserves. He's in no position to help you. And for that, I feel for you. I really do. But it doesn't change the fact." Marcel paused. He saw Caroline's defeated face. "I can offer you _something_ though, if you do something for me in return." She looked up.

"Which is?"

"First I need your word on something." Caroline agreed and Marcel continued. "If anyone asks about Klaus, you are never to tell them about this trip. If they already know you came, I need your word that you'll tell them you didn't find anything. You don't know Vincent, you don't know me. And you certainly don't have the tiniest clue where Klaus is or what he's been up to for the last few years. He is _nowhere to be found_ and neither is anyone who could possibly ever help locate him _._ Got that?"

 _Nowhere to be found_. Words that she would come to recite to Stefan about Klaus later.

"Got it," she hastily agreed.

Marcel stood up and Caroline followed suit. And again, she was letting him lead her somewhere. As they were walking through a hall, she momentarily perked up her vampire ears. She could hear the girls talking to Josh excitedly about what they had named their new Barbies at home. And he was indulging them by being inquisitive about something he surely didn't care for. Asking them what the Barbies looked like and what accessories they have. Caroline felt reassured. Even Lizzie was taking her turn talking his ear off. It certainly made Caroline much more comfortable.

Down some stairs they went, her just a few steps behind Marcel, into a basement that was all brick and dirt. To say it was unfinished was an understatement. Marcel picked up a sledge hammer and she was briefly panicked but then he swung it at a wall. The bricks crumbled at the strength behind his swing. He hit it again and she could see something inside. When a good chunk of the wall was demolished, she realized it was a desiccated body. None other than Klaus himself. His eyes were closed, his face sunken.

"Oh my God," Caroline got out at the sight that sucked the breath right out of her.

His eyes shot open.

"He can see and hear you but he can't respond. His eyes are the only thing he can move," Marcel explained looking at the Original.

"What did you _do_ to him?!"

"Just shoved the cursed blade of a witchdoctor in his chest making him feel all the pain he's caused others." He turned to Caroline. "But since you've come so far and I'm feeling generous, I could let you talk to him for a bit. Besides, I like you."

"And what is it you want me to do for you?"

"What I'm offering you and what I want are the same thing." He didn't give any further detail. Instead, he reached in, plunged his hand into Klaus' chest, making Caroline cringe, and pulled out what looked like a knife made of bone. "Go ahead and feed him some blood. Talk for a while and then come back upstairs when you're ready and I'll put the blade back in. And if you're thinking of trying anything, just know that I'm much more than a normal vampire. I'm something that even he fears. Something that has never existed before which I'm sure he'll attest to as well." With that, he walked up the stairs and closed the door at the top. He didn't go far though. Caroline could hear him take a seat near by.

She then quickly turned to Klaus and bit her wrist, shoving it to his mouth. Slowly the desiccation lifted and color returned to his face. He lifted his arms and she could hear his skin like dried paper, his bones as though they were rusted. He drank some more and in no time he was restored. Mostly. She was determined to figure out a way to get him out of here.

"Caroline," he said. "What are you doing here?" His legs were still stuck in something below. The wall had only been opened half way. Caroline grabbed ahold of the sledge hammer. "Don't bother, Love. There's no hope for me. I can't leave."

"He said we could talk. He never said it had to be with you pinned in there." She swung and with a few good hits, broke the brick and mortar until he stumbled out, grabbing her shoulders for stability. He obviously hadn't stood on his own for quite some time so it took a minute for him to steady himself.

"Caroline, what are you doing here?" He asked again.

"Yeah, great to see you too," she huffed with attitude.

"You shouldn't be here. It's not safe for you."

"What? You mean Marcel? He's letting me talk to you and he has some guy named Josh taking care of Lizzie and Josie. He might be planning to put you back in there but he's being kind by letting us see each other when he could have just sent me away."

"Don't you see, Caroline? It's not kindness. He's using you to torture me more than that damn knife ever could. You're being dangled in front of me right before being snatched away."

Caroline sunk. Marcel had said ' _What I'm offering you and what I want are the same thing_ '. He wanted Klaus and Caroline to talk. He wanted Klaus to see the one thing he wanted most before he lost it again. That was cruel. Klaus was right. She definitely had to find a way to escape with him but with a super vampire surely listening in upstairs and another with her children, how was she suppose to do that?

"Do you want me to go?"

"No!" He nearly yelled. "Now that you're here, I want to spend as much time as he'll allow." He looked into her eyes and softly ran his fingers down her cheeks. He was a little dusty but she didn't mind. "Why are you here, Love?" He asked again softly.

"Rayna. She's back and used me to get to Stefan. Alaric and I are scared for the girls so I came down here to find you and he won't be far behind to join us."

Klaus nodded and Caroline got an idea. Pulling out her phone from her pocket, she started typing a text and then showed him the screen.

 _How do we get you out of here?_ She'd written. He leaned in and rubbed his eyes a bit before squinting and looking at the screen. His entire body was slowly waking up.

"We don't," he verbally responded. "I need to be here."

" _Now_? You choose _now_ to be all noble and accept punishment for whatever the hell you did to piss people off?"

Klaus grabbed her phone and began typing a message of his own and then handed it back.

 _I need to be alive. As long as I am, my family is safe. We're linked so they may live until a cure can be found for what happened to them. I can't escape here and this is the only way that Marcel will keep me alive so I'm doing what I must._

Caroline read it but could hardly believe it. This whole situation was so dire. She didn't know what to say or how to help. The powerlessness under the weight of this news was crippling. She didn't say a word as she wrapped her arms around him and just held on tight. He rested his head on her shoulder and relaxed in her embrace as she put hers on his shoulder.

"I promise you won't be stuck in here forever. I'll figure something out."

He pulled away and grabbed her head to look at him. "No, you won't, Caroline. This is not your fight. I know this won't be forever but you're not the one who will grant me my freedom. That will have to come another way. After we're done here, you are to walk away. Do you understand me?" He was stern, like the day he saved her from Alaric when he was a vampire.

Tears started forming in her eyes. "I can't just..." There were no words.

"Yes, you can. It means the world that you feel this strongly for me. Even if your initial reason for coming was because you had no choice, I'm glad to know that you also wanted to see me. Or am I wrong?"

Caroline knew this was the moment to be more honest with him than she ever had been. "You're not wrong... I-, I missed you." she sniffled. "Do you want my _confession_?" She thought back to when he'd asked for it before.

Klaus slightly smiled. "Of course, Sweetheart," and put his forehead to hers.

"There _are_ things that I want. But I lied to you. Because that future, those plans, the things that I want- they _do_ include you. I could just never admit it before. Even to myself."

His frame now strong and steady, he hauled her in and kissed her. And like before, it made her dizzy. Sent a shock through her entire body and felt amazing. She never realized just how much she needed this, missed him being around, felt the need for someone's touch that hadn't been there in so long. How had all this hidden from her? How had she contained it for all that time?

"I love you, Caroline," he whispered, slightly breaking away.

Maybe it was the emotion of the moment, or the fact that he was going to return to the prison behind a brick wall or that she wanted him to have at least a piece. Whatever it was, something escaped her lips that she never expected.

"I love you too."

He quickly leaned back to catch her eyes and he studied them for several moments to see what lay behind them. Whatever he found made him tear up with her and in a whirlwind, his lips connected with hers again. This time there was a desperation. His fingers went into her hair, he yanked her body in tight and kissed her like she hadn't been kissed in four years, like she'd never been kissed before _that_. No one kissed like he did. No one set her body on fire that'd burned this hot.

They separated, both breathing hard and Caroline began lifting his shirt. "Is this okay?" She asked. His smile spread just like it had those years ago after she'd planted one on him for the first time. And just like before, she smiled in return right before he whooshed her up against a wall.

Everything seemed to mirror the past. First his jacket came off, then hers. Then his hands grabbed ahold of her top and ripped it away from her chest before returning to her lips. It was all so familiar. The way his hard, muscular body felt against hers, the way the friction of his skin made her wild, how his hair felt in her fingers... they fit together like puzzle pieces and Caroline had no idea how she had buried that so deep down. How did she ever think she'd been satisfied with Stefan? Or anyone else?

But this wasn't exactly like last time. This was _better_. With the torture he'd been enduring for years and the way life had beaten her into submission, they both needed this like a human needed to breath, needed water in the desert. Their hands roamed everywhere as clothes were shredded and discarded. He lifted her up onto him, her legs wrapping around and lowered her onto a pile of everything they'd taken off.

Their eyes met again and that's when he pushed inside her, making her moan and rake her nails down his back eliciting a hiss from his mouth. Maybe it was crazy, but this felt like what being complete would feel like. She'd been so empty in nearly every way you can be and now, she felt not only physically full but emotionally as well.

Klaus rocked out and back into her, grinding their hips. Over and over, as deeply as he could while she bucked up to meet him. It was like itching a mosquito bite with how in ecstasy they were. It just feels so good to scratch.

Both tried to hold on, to make it last but it was like a furnace that couldn't be held off from an explosion. Caroline was gasping out his name and as she was on the precipice of orgasm, he bit into her neck and that's what did it. He moved faster as the first wave hit her and he sent several more crashing in, shaking her entire body. He pulled his fangs out of her neck and growled with his own release which is when she latched on to _his_ neck. She not only needed his blood to cure the venom he'd just injected but because she just simply wanted it. For the longest time, she tried to ignore how intimate it had been when he'd cured her from bites before. She had hated how connected to him she'd felt.

The warm coppery tasting liquid coated her throat as they continued moving together, gripping hair and riding out the storm that blocked out the rest of the world.

When they were both exhausted, he just leisurely kissed her, stroking his fingers over her entire body and he stayed within her. They were on the floor like that for what must have been an hour, just touching and tasting one another. Caroline licked his collar bone and blew cold air over it, making his eyes roll back as he squeezed her hips.

Klaus nor Caroline ever wanted to let go, but they slowly put one article of clothing on at a time, intermingled with soft kisses. When they were both fully clothed once more, Caroline with her jacket zipped up since her top was demolished, they just sat leaning up against a wall holding one another and started a beautiful conversation.

"No one has ever loved me like you do," she said.

"And no one ever will," he added. "It may be a long time before we are together again but I can promise you that I'll still be your last. One day, I'll come for you and we won't wait another minute to start our forever. For now, we just have to hold on until then. In all my thousand years, you're everything I wanted and I'll never lose hope of that."

Caroline didn't know how long it was that they were curled up together. They didn't know how much time they had so they were making the most out of every single second. After what seemed like hours, their talk continued.

"How did you know?"

"Know what, Love?" He stroked her hair.

"That we were right for each other."

"Magic." That was all he said. She knew what he meant though. It's that feeling you get that you can't explain. When something is so right that it won't go away, won't leave you alone, won't let you rest. You don't know where it comes from and there's no rhyme or reason but it's there anyway. You can kick and scream, fight it all you want but it's there to stay. Sometimes you don't recognize it, it doesn't dawn on you what it is that's inside you. But it comes out eventually.

"Tell me you love me one more time, Caroline."

She picked up her head off his chest and looked up at him. "I love you."

Klaus smiled and rested their heads together. " _I_ love _you_." They gently rocked back and forth so soothed in on another's arms.

"Well isn't this sweet?" Both their eyes shot open to Marcel standing on the stairs. "Ya know, for being an 'acquaintance', you sure do move fast, Caroline. I hate to break up this little conjugal visit but it's time to part ways, you crazy kids."

Dread filled them both as they stood up. Tears welled in their eyes as they latched on to each other for one last embrace. One last kiss. But reluctantly, Klaus eased her away and trudged back into the wall, turning to face outward. Tears now streaming down Caroline's face and his as well.

"Keep yourself safe for me. Hide from Rayna, do whatever you have to. And one day, Caroline. I promise you." His jaw clenched.

"Always and Forever," she replied.

Marcel froze at her words. This one girl meant more to his sire than anyone ever had except for maybe his daughter. Caroline was as dear to him as family and Marcel knew that she would be waiting for Klaus, for the day when he was released, whenever Marcel decided it was time. What he intended as a form of torture had turned into hours of heaven and a promise of eternity for these two lovers. It would hurt the hybrid but it did him more good than anything and the man who had been born a slave hated that. What he hated even more is that he was moved by it a little bit too.

Klaus and Caroline were looking into one another's eyes when Marcel drove the cursed bone dagger back into his chest. Klaus' yell of pain made Caroline choke out a sob but she stayed where she was as it was sucked into his chest and his body went limp, held up only by the broken concrete he was leaning against.

"I'll come back down to brick him in again but for now, I'll see you to your room."

"My room?" Caroline asked, feeling like she was going to crumble at the sight of Klaus staring out unmoving.

"Yeah, you've been down here almost the entire night. Your girls are sound asleep in bed. Josh fed them and read them a bedtime story. You can rest and when you wake up, pack up the kids and don't come back here."

She walked forward, reached in and clasped Klaus' hand. "One day," she said as more tears poured down her cheeks.

Caroline turned and followed Marcel up the stairs. She was put in a room and she fell asleep exhausted, in a complete disheveled mess.

When she awoke, Caroline found a change of clothes on that chair in the room and started cleaning herself up and getting dressed trying not to think of the man downstairs in pain. She mechanically pulled herself together, collected her kids and walked towards the exit. Josh came running, trying to catch her before she left.

"Look, I know we don't know each other but..." he pulled her into a big hug. "Everything will work out. Don't lose faith."

"Thank you," she whispered. Then walked out with Lizzie and Josie.

Back to a life with no joy except her two girls. She would try to fill her time with distractions but nothing seemed to take her mind off of her longing for any more than a few minutes. Each smile and laughter was short lived. Caroline held it together for her daughters, made sure they always knew they were loved and cherished. She wasted away some more time with Stefan but nothing with him was even a little satisfying anymore so it didn't last and she returned permanently to Texas. He could see he wasn't who she wanted.

Caroline lived close so that Lizzie and Josie would never lose their mommy. She kept occupied and she waited.

And then, that one day came and the waiting was over.


End file.
